Hey friends,
Typically our recipes are fairly whimsical and wild, but in this post I’m focusing on recipes that are fundamentally helpful for parents. Recipes that we can easily cook in advance, freeze, and make available for our kids to SERVE THEMSELVES!
The concept of self-service food for kids is a little funny, I get it, but what’s not funny is being quarantined with three hungry children due to a global pandemic. I mean y’all, who would have ever guessed that a dirty bat in a meat market in China would threaten the existence mankind, crush the global economy, and turn modern day parents into homeschool teachers and exhausted short order cooks? I don’t know about you, but the first two weeks of this quarantine had me going BAT S**T crazy with cooking for my family around….. the….. clock. Is it the boredom that’s making us all hungrier than ever? Who knows…
So, without delay, here are the three self-serve recipes for kids that have really made our time in quarantine feel a little less apocalyptic. Serve these dishes with fruit or any other healthy sides and your little ones are good to go (or maybe just stay inside in quarantine). 🙂
Recipe One:
Breakfast Burritos
Eggs, sautéed onions and peppers, shredded cheddar cheese and a soft flour tortilla.
Recipe Two:
Morning Glory Muffins:
I modified this recipe from a recipe used by the chef at my son's school. Chef Michelle used to make the whole school smell so incredible with her Morning Glory Muffins. We miss those cozy mornings!
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 chopped apple
- 1 shredded carrot
- 1 cup Craisins or Cran Cherries
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees
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Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and slowly blend until combined
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Place batter in cupcake cups or a greased loaf pan
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Bake until toothpick comes out (almost) dry. Usually about 15 minutes.
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Let cool. Great served warm with a little butter!
Recipe Three:
Mac n’ Cheese Minis:
Whip up your kid’s favorite Mac n’ Cheese (we use Annie’s Alfredo and Kraft), put in cupcake containers and freeze. These heat up in about one minute in the microwave, and are a great alternative to chips and cookies when the kids get hungry.
Here are a few of my favorite self serve meal and snack ideas from around the web!
https://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/self-serve-healthy-snacks-for-kids/
https://nurturemygut.com/ultimate-self-serve-snack-drawer-for-busy-families.html/
https://www.superhealthykids.com/parenting/kids-ready-self-serve-snack-box/
http://kiddley.com/2013/07/02/10-self-serve-snacks-for-kids/
I’m sure that you guys have tons of easy make ahead recipes that your kids love. If so, please send them our way. I would love to share your idea (with credit of course) for other parents who are trying to make it through this crazy time. We are going to get through all of this together!
Stay healthy and happy!
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